Season 1 |
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Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 2/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 5/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2/5
Lulu Wang’s new Prime Video series, Expats, is positioned in the realm of poignant dramas. It has all the trappings to become one. But after watching all the six episodes, the reality is starkly different. Expats is an unfortunate case of over-promising and under-delivering. While the overall package looks fantastic – arguably the best shot show of 2024 – when you sit down to peel back the layers, the story is chaotic and uncompelling.
Adapted from Janice Lee’s literary work, the limited series focuses on how the disappearance of a five-year-old Gus Woo changes the complexion of the lives of his loved ones.
All the “expats” in Wang’s story are assimilated at The Peak, a posh multi-apartment building. But the narrative is far more expansive. Margaret and Clarke, Gus’ parents, find different ways of dealing with his disappearance. While Margaret still believes that she will find Gus one day, Clarke has turned to find strength in faith. It remains a well-kept secret for a long time but draws a wedge between them.
Hilary and David Starr are no longer on Margaret’s speed dial. Gus’ disappearance changed the dynamics of their marriage, although the real seeds of discontentment were sown long before that. Adding to this intricate mesh of interpersonal misery is Mercy, a Korean-American youngster living in Hong Kong.
Mercy was briefly hired by Margaret as a caretaker for the children. Margaret did not like how Essie, the family’s longstanding nanny, “influenced” her kids. It was this momentary lapse of discerning right from wrong that led to Mercy’s introduction to Gus. On her first day, she was handed over the responsibility of looking after him in Hong Kong’s busiest night market. A couple of seconds later with her eyes off him, Gus became lost in the crowd. No one who was involved in this chain of events could quite recover from the setback.
Although the hope always remained that Gus would be found, no one, except Margaret, truly believed it. The show focuses on how they try to move past personal strife while dealing with the changing realities of their lives.
Expats is structured quite differently than a conventional television series. I guess it becomes “plotless” sometime after the first half, from which point on Wang’s vision broadens to make the city the centre of attention…among other things.
We have seen previously where the setting itself has played a major role in how stories have shaped up. Taxi Driver, Paris Texas, Blade Runner, The Third Man…the trend is present across genres. In all these cinematic works, an underlying romanticism rubs off on the characters and the central conceit. In the case of Expats, the nature of the subject matter ensures that the city is shown to isolate the characters.
The declining urbanization and economic trends make way for gorgeous portraits. Wang’s special love for Hong Kong plays a pioneering role in this creative choice. It is not so much how the city is in reality but how Wang sees it through her beloved admiration. There is an element of love and respect toward the people as well, who have been dealt a tough hand by the CCP. Anna Franquesa-Solano deserves a lot of credit for her camerawork and the Wong-kar Wai-inspired framing choices.
Everything about Expats unravels when we come to discussing its bread and butter: the story…and on the same tangent, “storytelling.” This is where Wang and her writing team’s effort is the weakest. It is understandable given the tradeoff for a more altruistic and cinematic approach. Expats veers away from taking a direct approach and building up plot points. Instead, it banks on a character-driven narrative but remains somewhere in between the two styles. The narrative is defined by the suffering and pain our female protagonists carry. But the progression is stale.
As a result, Expats becomes a painful watch, with the exception of Episode 5, “Central,” which I recommend viewers watch without the context of the rest of the story. All the other episodes skew continuity. But by far the biggest beef I have with the writing is not developing the male characters. Both Clarke and David are sidetracked, subtly villainized, and left with fractured and incomplete arcs. The roles aren’t meaty enough, which is a shame given the pedigree of the actors.
Coming to the acting, Nicole Kidman is decent in the first half of the show. But her lack of expressions in the second is quite alarming. It is becoming a trend with Kidman where she chooses to hold back in intensely written scenes. Although I am not aware of behind-the-scenes discussions, I am not sure it is working on the screen. Saraya Blue and Ji-young Yoo, on the other hand, maintain the levels of their performances well enough.
Ji-young’s portrayal is arguably the best among the cast members. Her character has a much more universal appeal than the rest, clearly speaking to our shared, deepest insecurities. She carries herself boldly through Mercy’s confusion and trauma, bringing an infectious honesty and spontaneity to her.
Lulu Wang’s love letter to Hong Kong is visually stunning but lacks a convincing story. The acting is decent and the production values are top-notch. But Expats fails to conjure the magic it aspires to.
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Verdict - 6/10
6/10